Wir leben von all dem Engagement und dem Einsatz, den ihr alle unserer Vision «Alle für Wasser – Wasser für alle» entgegenbringt. Hierfür wollen wir uns bei euch allen herzlich bedanken und mit «Faces of Agua» zum Ausdruck bringen.
In diesem Teil stellen wir euch Sivuyile Tembani vor. Sivu ist in der Metropole Kapstadt aufgewachsen und hat sich vor knapp einem Jahr dazu entschieden, ins ländliche Bulungula zu ziehen, um die Arbeit von Viva con Agua Südafrika vor Ort voranzutreiben. Als eine von zwei WASH (Water, Sanitation, Hygiene) Verantwortlichen ist sie neben Mercy für die Umsetzung der Projekte in der Eastern Cape Provinz zuständig.
Sie hat uns erzählt, wie es ist, in der ländlichen Region Bulungula zu leben, was ihr Antrieb ist und weshalb sie es schätzt, Teil der Viva con Agua Familie zu sein.
My name is Sivuyile Tembani, I’m born in Butterworth in the Eastern Cape and grew up in Cape Town. I studied Earth Sciences with a major in Geology in Stellenbosch University, Cape Town.
I am part of the Viva con Agua family since Summer 2020. That was when I moved from the Western Cape to Bulungula in the Eastern Cape Province. It’s a great opportunity for me having to move from an urban area to a rural area like Bulungula. It has changed me. It showed me how much having a clean toilet is actually a privilege and it showed me that there are issues about water, sanitation and hygiene: People of the community here are lacking the value of dignity – and having to dignify people in that sense for me is an important thing. To understand people’s struggles and meeting them for solutions: That’s why I am here and why I really worship the work with Viva con Agua.
For example: There are still some houses here which don’t have toilets. The government one started building some but never continued. How far are we pushing back? Services are lacking on this side. This is why people do their business outside in the bushes. Since the area here is very hilly and the Xhora River runs through the landscape, feces often end up in the river. There people wash their clothes, drink the water and use it for cooking, which in turn makes them sick. That is what we want to change. For example the Bulungula Incubator conducted a local survey in which we found out that 53% of the households had lost at least one child to diarrhea. And 1 in 9 have lost three children or more, due to a lack of access to safe drinking water and any kind of sanitation.
Therefore we are not only here to drop off toilets and then leave again. We are actually willing to work together with the community. To build toilets and educate people in how to keep them clean. To build a sustainable solution regarding to WASH – water, sanitation and hygiene.
And I think with Viva con Agua, our strategy plan for the project in Bulungula and how we plan on working with the community, we are absolutely on the right track. Besides that I enjoy my time with Viva con Agua. We are one family, one unity. For me that has been the best thing: the understanding, the respect for every human being. I’m honored to be part of this energy. We are pushing. And there is more to come. It’s exciting and fun – and valuable.
